CHS green shower power 2012

Carmel High School

Carmel High School students led the way in 2012 by winning both the Girls and Boys Indiana State Swimming Championships and by installing 75 low-flow shower heads in the high school to reduce water waste. The CHS Green Shower Power club received a Carmel Green Teen micro-grant for $750 to help fund new push-on auto-off buttons and low-flow shower heads in the school and community locker rooms. This ambitious group of students also chose to reach out to the community to educate other students and their families about the benefits of low-flow shower heads and other water-conserving measures. The new low-flow shower heads and push buttons will be utilized by 140 Carmel High School Swim Team athletes, 440 Carmel Swim Club members, and numerous student and community recreational swimmers.

Students in the CHS Green Shower Power club, collected water with a funnel from the shower to determine the amount of water used by the old shower heads prior to the installation of the new low-flow units.

The first low-flow shower heads installed allowed 1.5 gallons per minute, but this water flow was determined insufficient for quick, effective cleaning for the swimmers. Hence, 2.5 gallon per minute shower heads were installed to meet these needs. Since the new shower heads use 0.25-0.50 fewer gallons of water per minute, in a week, the swim team can save at least 6,860 gallons of water, which is about the same amount of water the average American flushes down the toilet in a year.

The students involved in this project wanted to determine the environmental impact of the new shower heads. Therefore, they needed before and after measurements of the gallons per minute of water flowing through the shower heads. The older shower heads allowed a flow rate of about 2.75-3.00 gallons of water per minute.

Previously, the locker rooms housed standard shower heads with levered handles allowing for continuous water flow. A lot of water can be saved through the installation of the new lower-flow shower heads and the on-off buttons that conserve water by allowing water flow for one minute before shutting off. The students in Green Shower Power will continue to determine the amount of water saved over the next year.

The new shower heads and push button switches are just one of many energy and resources conserving initiatives at Carmel High School. These changes are not only smart because they save resources while teaching students about the importance of water conservation; they are smart because they save money.